From Classroom to Creative Dreams: Charting My Path to the Animation and Gaming Industry

One of my biggest dreams has always been to work in the Animation or Gaming industry. After university, I quickly realized my skill set didn’t quite match up with the industry expectations for the roles I was eyeing. However, I didn’t let this deter me. Instead, I embarked on a journey that took me to Japan to teach English, a dream in its own right, and gradually veered into marketing. This detour wasn’t a detour after all; it honed my skills in photography, videography, digital image manipulation, and social media—all of which are valuable in my desired field.

While marketing has brought me closer to my passion, the ultimate goal remains: to join a games or animation studio. I’ve even stepped into Fortiche Production's lobby on vacation, and that brief moment further fueled my aspirations.

Finding Inspiration

I remember a Halloween night spent conversing with strangers in a bar, where discussions about career paths are as common as the clinking of glasses. Sharing my desires to switch fields, I found encouragement from a couple who had traversed multiple careers themselves. Their reassurance was a beacon of hope: changing paths isn’t just possible—it’s doable.

With renewed vigor, I didn’t just dream; I strategized. Here’s where I envisioned myself contributing:

Dream Workplaces

• Turn 10 Studios - Contributing to Forza Horizon in Japan
• Riot Games - Being part of the League of Legends MMO universe
• Fortiche Production - Bringing any project to life
• Sony Pictures Animation - Crafting stories on any of their projects
• CD PROJEKT RED - Delving into the Cyberpunk series
• miHoYo - Shaping worlds in Genshin Impact or similar franchises
• Nexon America - Adding my touch to Blue Archive or The Finals

These aspirations may be lofty, but they are the lighthouses guiding my journey. Nonetheless, I have practical steps laid out as well.

Animation School and Beyond

I understand the value of formal education in my field. Therefore, I’m considering top institutions like DigiPen, Yoyogi Animation School, and Kyoto University of Art & Design. These places could help me bridge the gap between my current skills and the ones required to excel in animation and gaming.

DigiPen Institute of Technology - Digital Art and Animation Degree

Yoyogi Animation School - Animation Digital Art

京都造形芸術大学 - Animation Digital Art Degree

Building a Library of Work

To apply to these schools, I know a robust portfolio is key. Hence, I’ve been curating a collection of work that not only demonstrates my current abilities but also showcases my potential. I take cues from artists like Sake Harasu, whose online tutorials have been instrumental in refining my skills. But tutorials are just the beginning—it’s the application of this knowledge that counts.

Sake Harasu is an online artist that posts character illustrations online. For the low price of 2 dollars a month, you can access their Patreon where they post tutorials.

While following tutorials are useful. Companies like to see how you can apply your knowledge so for my next project I used the knowledge to do original work.

Process of Creation

Starting Image

The image starts out as a flat underexposed picture of a modified car. I shoot in a flat profile to preserve dynamic range. Shooting a little darker at night makes for a lower ISO and preserves more details toward the bright areas and highlights.

Modified Image

Using Adobe 's Lightroom I increased the exposure. To make the car pop, I added some contrast and saturation to the car. Wanting to make the image a tad surreal I added an orange overlay to the top right half of the image and a blue overlay to the bottom left-hand corner.

This helps to balance the image and draw attention towards the middle. If you were to take this to the extreme it would be a very graphic and split composition. I then duplicated the layer followed by some Gaussian blur. Setting the transfer mode to the screen and reducing the opacity makes for a nice glow effect.

Making the Image Graphic

When I watched the tutorial I realized you can make an image look more graphic by simply painting over an existing image. It's not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot of shape design that goes into making something that was once 3D slightly more flat and graphic while retaining that perspective look. Overall I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Sketching the Character

Putting a character into space is a lot more difficult than it sounds as well. When drawing a character into a scene you have to consider the perspective and scale relative to the other objects. This task was made harder because I didn't have any character to begin with. I had to think of the clothing, personality, and how that character would interact if she were having her picture taken. I settled with a friendly playful sitting on the car and a peace sign(I wouldn't sit on a car like this IRL though!!)

Adding 3D Elements

I wanted to start working with 3D again. 3D is an important part of the modern-day gaming industry. I thought that even if I made simple objects like cans, light poles, or guardrails it would be a good way for me to start working at a game studio. I watched seven parts of the infamous doughnut tutorial before starting on my first original project.

I Can do it. . . Bad Pun Intended

Modeling a can was something simple enough for me to do after watching the tutorial. It was helpful to look at a can in real life and compare my model to the object. I took inspiration from earlier Xbox and Xbox 360 games as many of those objects were just low poly cylinders with textures over the top. I emulated the same Idea of taking a can in real life and taking a photo of the top. I repurposed one of my old artworks to be the energy drink label.

Cat Girl Energy Drink Why Not

While I'm not the best at UV placement and unwrapping I was able to make this pretty cool looking Can.

Lastly, I used a free Blender plugin to match the perspective of the original photo and the 3D elements before using Photoshop to help composite the images into the scene.

Final Thoughts

This project was more than fun; it was a reaffirmation of my commitment to my craft. It might not be AAA quality yet, but it’s a testament to my self-motivation and ability to learn. My aim is clear: to start as a junior artist and evolve under the mentorship of those I aspire to work with.

Thank you for joining me on this reflection of my journey so far.

Thanks for Reading

Much Love <3,

LaidbackMarco